Your worst fears, realized
by Haurvatat
Summary: Judai leaned his head against Johan’s shoulder, sighing as the sun began to disappear over the horizon. “We… are the biggest idiots in the history of stupid people, aren’t we?” “…Yeah.” JohanxJudai aka JessexJaden, slight lemon PLEASE, R&R! Spiritshipping
1. In These Shoes? by Kirsty Maccoll

Hiya guys

Hiya guys! Yeah. I'm back! Amazing, I know. See, I was going through a period of absolute hell recently – my hard drive died a horrible death. Thusly, all of my Word documents went bye bye. All of my half-finished or ready to be posted stories/chapters for my more popular stories all were GONE. I still don't know how I'm going to recover from this one. I'll have to rewrite a lot of stuff and remember the plotlines for some of the events in my stories. With any luck, I'll have more free time, considering that it's summer and all to write the chapters all over again. #sob#

Okay, here's my first shot attempt at a Yu-Gi-Oh gx fic, not to mention my first even slightly… y'know, _dirty_ fic. Oh, boy. Didn't think I watched shows bastardized by 4kids? WRONG. DEAD WRONG. I just can't get enough of the characters. I love them so much. I just skip over the children's card game stuff. Most of the duels get fast-forwarded. Hehehe. Take that, network execs.

I'm kind of nervous about it, actually. I don't write lemons; I just don't. That could be because I embarrass way easy. So please, please keep in mind that this is going to be my first attempt at an M-rated when you review, seeing as you WILL be reviewing.

DISCLAIMER: Them bastards at 4kids. They can take and bastardize all the good stuff, but they can NEVER STOP THE GHEY.

Totes.

* * *

"Johaaaaaaaan."

"What?"

"I'm horny."

Johan's head jerked up from his book, red from ear to ear. "You couldn't find a more delicate way to say it?"

"Delicacy is for society types." Judai pouted, head turning toward the open window in the Slifer red dorm. "I'm not what you'd call delicate to begin with."

Johan rolled his eyes and tried to begin reading his book again. Of course, after a statement like that, it was hard to focus on anything in particular.

"So…"

"So?"

Judai looked at Johan with the cutest eyes he could make. "So – what are you going to do about it?"

Johan gave up any pretense at reading his book. "Look, Judai, why don't you…"

An eyebrow was raised, a small smirk accompanying it. "Why don't I…"

The blunette's face turned even redder. Why did Judai have to look like he did? No human should ever be that beautiful. "Just leave me alone. After all, doesn't it go 'all things in moderation'?"

"'All things in moderation' my ass," Judai muttered.

"Literally." Johan received one of those I'll-get-you-later looks.

"Johaaaan. _I need you_." Johan's face was nearly emptied of blood via his face at the voice alone. Oh, _God._ That had to be the sexiest, neediest voice in the world. His legs and fingers quivered in anticipation. Which should win: his pride and stubbornness or his bodily lusts? Well, both were sins anyway. Fuck it! NO. That shouldn't be how everything was decided in life. Pride won.

"Listen to me Judai." Johan's fingers wrapped around the shorter boy's arms, the joking tone now abandoned. "You need to learn something other than new positions and ways to move your ass. You need to learn a magical, fantastical thing called _modesty_. I'm not going to spoil you by giving you everything you want."

"But I'm not the only one who wants it!" Protested Judai, pointing. Johan twitched and backed off, wondering if his face could remain at its normal complexion for over thirty seconds around the other boy.

"That's not the point I'm trying to make. I'm saying this: No sex for you."

Judai gasped in terror.

"That's right. Abstinence. Your worst fear, realized."

"Johan, _no_!"

"Yes."

"But, but, but… _why_?"

"I've explained it several times now. If you're having trouble remembering it, just look at those paragraphs up there."

"But paragraphs are _looooong_. And please, Johan, just, _please_, only once, it doesn't even have to be fancy-"

"Not a chance. It starts now and ends when I decide." Johan got up to leave the room, wondering exactly how much of this declaration would actually be upheld for longer than two days.

Judai's hand shot out and grabbed Johan's arm, pulling him into a deep kiss that left his legs quivering, eyes glazed, and face redder than ever.

"I'll see to it," Judai whispered into Johan's ear, "that you aren't able to keep that promise for long. I'll make your life hell. See if I don't."

Johan ran for it before he lost control completely, another, larger hand grabbing his arm and swinging him around at the last stretch out of the Slifer dorms.

"J-Jim?"

The Australian boy looked at Johan with his good eye, a sarcastic smirk in place, looking like he was about to laugh. "Wotch yeself, mate. If I know Judai like I think I doe, 'e'll 'ave ye kneeling at 'is feet in a week or less. I'll save a 'ospital bed fo' ye. Good luck. I'll sta't talking to the guys about placing bets 'n' such."

Johan made a face. "Placing bets?"

"Don't knock it, mate. There's good money ta be made when comes to thin's like this. I'll be puttin' my money on Judai, jest so's ye know."

"Faithless bastard."

"Yep."

Johan had finally calmed down enough to go back to his own dorm room, a place that he really hadn't seen much since having met Judai. Looking around the room, he realized that he'd left most of his things in Slifer dorm. Oh, well. He'd have to go to bed without brushing his teeth that night and risk the plaque. Better than going back to Slut!Judai.

* * *

"You look like hell," O'Brien informed Johan, handing him coffee. Johan, who normally couldn't get past the smell, downed half the contents in one gulp. O'Brien made a face and went back to making bacon and waffles. For a mercenary type, he was a surprisingly good cook.

It had been a whole week since the initial declaration of war between the two lovers and Judai had kept his word. At every opportunity, he had tried to get as close to Johan as physically possible without actually having sex. Judai also was an expert at being able to keep Johan away from any and all bathrooms, which had nearly killed him twice over now. And the dreams. Oh, _GAWD_, the dreams. Judai had given enough material to fuel dreams for a month. These dreams were what had kept Johan awake and fully alert during strange hours of the morning when he should've been sleeping. This had been meant as a punishment for a spoiled Judai, so why was it so damn _hard_ on Johan? He only took solace in the thought that Judai had to be suffering just as much, a thought that was fleeting at best, considering that the boy must be having a lot of fun teasing his love-starved boyfriend. Johan would suffer in silence, though, if it meant that a) Judai would learn his lesson and b) that shmuck Jim would lose copious amounts of money. Always a plus in any situation.

That ass. That face. That hair. The poses. The posture. The way his hips sort of swayed a bit to make to fabric ride right up into- _crap_. He was doing it again. Johan really had to stop the random lapses into Judai-ville. Maybe it was time to take up drugs. Or smoking. Or jaywalking. Or something equally risky. Anything was better than thinking thoughts that he was no longer allowed to think. _But why_? questioned the ever-reasonable part of his mind. _Why aren't you allowed to think of your own boyfriend as jailbait? Isn't that a privilege that you get WHEN you become the boyfriend? Why subject yourself to this just to teach him a lesson?_ The other, less reasonable and decidedly more retarded part of his mind fought back with tooth and nail, never letting his pride waver. Sometimes, Johan wished that his pride could stuff it.

"I take it you've heard the news from Jim?"

O'Brien turned from his waffles for a second. "Sure did. He's getting the whole school involved in the biggest damn betting pool ever. Sorry 'bout this, but personally, I think it's funny."

"You suck," Johan moaned.

"You wish."

"Touché."

O'Brien coughed and put the bacon on the table, setting out silverware. "Thanks, man. You have no idea how much help you've been these past couple of days."

"So how long are you planning to put yourself through hell? 'Till you die of undersexed-ness?"

Johan paled for once. He had really never put any thought into it. How long would he have to put up with this? "So who didja bet on?"

O'Brien turned back to his waffles quickly. Johan threw bacon at the back of his head. "So wasteful," O'Brien muttered, putting the soiled meat in the trashcan.

"Much as I hate to say it, you may win that bet. I hate this. I don't know how long I can hold out. Judai plays dirty. If Judai just acted normal – er, well, you know, how he acts in front of _you_ guys – then I'd be able to cope just fine. But _hell_. He doesn't make it easy. I wish he didn't know me so well. He knows exactly how to turn me on without having to say a word. He likes watching me suffer, too. I know that look on his face. The little sexy bastard is having _fun_ doing this. I'm starting to think that Jim put him up to it."

"Judai can be a bastard all on his own, I think."

"Amen." Johan lightbulbed. "Hey!"

"Uh-oh. I know a bad idea when I see one."

"It's not a bad idea!" Johan protested, standing up from his seat at the breakfast table. "Can you talk to Judai for me? Just to find out how he's taking it? If I can figure out how long he can last, I can put more effort into outlasting him for just long enough! Thinking that I'll have to do this forever will definitely make me think of giving in, but if I know when it's okay to stop, it'll be so much easier to bear!"

O'Brien looked over at a wall pointedly.

"I'll pay you."

"Done."

* * *

"So."

"So."

"Johan is about to kill himself."

"Good."

"He sent me to figure out how long you can keep up your little sexy asshole thing."

"Sounds like something he'd do."

"I'm serious. He needs you. Just admit your loss or something and don't try to seduce him for a little bit and he'll be all over you before the day is done. Admitting a loss would actually just mean that you'd win."

"How much did he pay you to tell me that?"

"…The right amount."

Judai looked up at the sky outside of Slifer dorm. "I think it's just a battle of pride now. I'm going a little crazy myself over here. I mean, he hasn't even come over to get his bags. I've still got his toothbrush and some other stuff. I don't want to know _whose_ toothbrush he's borrowing in the meantime."

O'Brien tried looking thoughtful. "What if you both gave up at the same time? Then you two can go into a nice secluded closet or something and the rest of us can stop having to make breakfast for sex-starved queers who can't take care of their own damn needs."

Judai looked at O'Brien with an odd face. "He's making you make him breakfast?"

"Why? Jealous that he's in my rooms? Every morning?"

Judai blushed and looked at his fingers.

"No matter how much Johan may have paid me, just keep in mind that I actually am a friend to the both of you. Just a shot in the dark here, but did you ever think that maybe I'm _concerned_?" Judai raised an eyebrow. "He drank half a mug of coffee this morning in one gulp." Judai's eyes widened in shock.

"No way," he breathed.

"See how much he wants you? You've driven him to madness. Most of the time, he can never get past the smell and tells us so at every opportunity."

Judai smiled a little, a strangely alien thing on his face. "I really do love that idiot," he confessed.

"I'd bet you my deck that he's thinking the exact same thing about you. Now let's quit with the fluff scene this silly bitch of a writer came up with and go have a chat with Jim about me withdrawing my bets." Judai laughed a tiny bit and pried himself up from the wooden stairway.

* * *

Judai followed O'Brien at a trot like a lost puppy, looking around him. Every day, no matter how long it had been, he would always be looking at the inside of the main building as though it were his first time of seeing it.

Suddenly, O'Brien stopped walking. Judai slammed into his back. Rubbing his nose, Judai tried to peer over the taller boy's shoulders. O'Brien heard the sharp intake of breath from behind his dreds.

Judai walked out from behind the black boy, suddenly like a cat with a favourite toy.

"Hey there, boytoy!"

"Oh, God." Johan's eyes got huge as he looked for something to hide behind. There was no such luck.

Judai twined around the taller boy much like the aforementioned cat. "I get the feeling you've been avoiding me…" Johan shivered. "You hurt my feelings!" Judai's mouth brushed Johan's ear as he gasped out in a shushed moan, "_It huuuuurts_…!" Johan was visibly shaking now, looking like he was about to break and jump Judai right then and there. O'Brien looked on in admiration. Judai was really good when it came to torture. Maybe he should work for the State or something.

But Judai hadn't finished his version of a greeting. He wrapped his arms around Johan's waist from behind and pressed their lower bodies together. "I really missed you… lemme see your face." Judai spun him around and brought their faces close together. "You left your bags at my room. You left your toothbrush too." Judai tucked an arm around the back of Johan's neck and pulled closer, running his tongue along Johan's lips, then his teeth. He pulled back sharply, winked, then walked away, swinging his hips enough to make the fabric around his crotch look tighter.

O'Brien walked up to the shell-shocked Johan. "You handled that well."

"Are you kidding? The only reason I didn't fuck him right then and there was because I was too scared to move."

"In that case, you sucked."

"I _wish_," he moaned, real fervor making his voice shake as much as the rest of him.

O'Brien breathed deeply. "Touché. Just remember to breathe when you lose this battle of pride, got it?"

* * *

Sho, being as innocent as he was, had no idea what was going on with his best friend and his best friend's best friend. He was concerned, though. For one thing, Judai-aniki seemed to be losing some of his old spark, growing more world-weary as the days progressed. Sho had no idea what could be happening to Johan, for the simple reason that the blunette was starting to become a hermit, staying in his own room most of the time or running to a friend's room for food or the smallest amount of human contact needed to stay sane. To a smarter person, these signs would've been enough to draw conclusions, but Sho, being a bit of a dip when it came to matters of the heart, decided to ask someone else. While it may've been possible to overlook poor Sho's shortcomings in this area, his choice of who to turn to for answers was not so easily forgivable.

"So, Manjoume-kun, what is going on between them? I would say that they're mad at each other, but every time that Aniki sees Johan-san, he's all over him! He can't be _that_ angry if he's being so friendly!" Sho finished, exasperated.

"Well what makes you think _I_ know anything?!" Manjoume yelled. "Those two are the weirdest damn people on the planet and you're asking me to understand their behaviour? I'm not some frickin' psychoanalyst or something!! I don't know!!"

Sho made a sad face. "Actually, I'd kinda hoped you would," he said.

"Don't know, don't care," Manjoume said.

"Oh, okay."

"…..."

"Then do you know anyone who _would_ know?"

Manjoume slammed his forehead onto the wooden tabletop. "Sho, why do you _care_ about those fags anyway? No, don't answer that," he said, seeing Sho begin to open his mouth. "I don't know who else could tell you specifics. All I know is that Johan has been talking to O'Brien a lot more – almost every morning. Not to mention that Jim has been up to something big for as long as this funk the dumbass duo have been in began. Both of them probably have something to do with it, or they know what's going on. If all else fails, Asuka forever knows more than she tells."

Sho smiled happily. "Thanks so much, Manjoume-kun!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!! AT _LEAST_ CALL ME SEMPAI!!" Manjoume hollered to the back of a blue jacket that was scampering away.

* * *

Sho walked around the campus, starting to rethink his life. O'Brien was scary. Frankly, his nose was what terrified Sho the most. Large noses or really curved noses somehow had always scared the living crap out of him. Then there was Jim. God save him. What kind of person carried around a croc on his back and named it _Karen_? Aussie or no, there were some limits to how weird foreigners were allowed to be. And that animal's teeth! They were bigger than O'Brien's nose and quite a bit sharper. Sho considered himself a pretty tasty-looking morsel to a crocodile, not to be conceited or anything.

All that was left was Asuka.

Sho swallowed and began to walk up the long walkway to the Obelisk Blue dorms. There was no way that this could end well.

* * *

O'Brien was talking to Jim.

"So if you're accepting bets from anyone anywhere on the campus, how much is in the pool currently?" O'Brien asked.

"I don't really sea what's in it fo' me, mate. If I tell ye, ye might decide ta get ideas. Dangerous things, them."

"Just a hint?"

"Not a chance, mate," Jim smirked.

"Fine then. Who's got the favour?"

"Ya don't 'ave to ask ta know, I should think."

O'Brien shook his head. "No one has any faith in Johan anymore."

"With _that one _fer an opponent, I'm quite su'prised that 'e 'asn't just given up by now."

"Good point."

"Any idea when I'll be collectin' on these bets?" Jim asked.

O'Brien glared at the taller man. "The two of them are really fighting with all they've got right now. It's not my place to say who's going to come out on top." The black boy tried hard to ignore the sinister chuckles Jim 'accidentally' let slip.

"Then at least tell meh why the insep'rable two a' fightin'."

"If that's what you want to call it." O'Brien sighed, his eyebrows furrowed. "Apparently Johan thinks that Judai just wants him for his butt."

"An' Judai?"

"Wouldn't mind a bit of butt."

"Unde'statement of the century," Jim said. "But if'in they love each other so much, shouldn't they know each other well 'nuff ta tell what the other is really thinkin'? Understand each other or somethin'?"

"I thought that too at one point. However, I came to the realization that the iron rules of love aren't always true when both parties are complete and utter dolts," O'Brien observed. Jim just nodded, munching on a Poptart.

"Y'know, mate, I used ta think these things were gross. But then I figu'ed out that you're supposed ta toast them. They look so no'mal on the outside, but have somethin' special on the inside. It could be compa'ed to the relationship that your dolts 'ave. They need to be exposed ta the right _conditions_ befo'e we can see jest 'ow deep their 'earts run. We may think that this a'gument is stupid now, and mayhap it is, but p'rhaps there's more to it than what we see on the su'face. "

O'Brien shook his head. "I think you're the only one in the world who could compare a love relationship to a Poptart. Kenzan was right about you."

"Now, what's that s'posed ta mean, mate? What is Dino Boy sayin' about me b'hind my back?" O'Brien just smirked and began to walk away.

* * *

Judai had followed Johan back to the Obelisk Blue dorms. It had been days since Johan had ventured outdoors, and that one little tease in the Main Building hadn't even _begun_ to improve Judai's condition. In fact, he was positive that it had made it worse, because now he remembered what it was like to touch and kiss his lover. It made him remember, vividly, exactly what he was missing. He was missing Johan.

"Johaaaaaaan!" The blunette turned around as if heckled by the demons of Hell. "Oh, now what's that face for? I'd hoped you'd be a little…" Judai wrapped his hands around Johan's lower back, "_happier_… to see me!"

"Ju-Ju-Judai, maybe we sh-shouldn't, ah…"

"Hm?" Judai was at least a little happy that he had such a startling affect on his boyfriend. If he would ever think to doubt Johan's affections, all he would have to do was think back to Johan's behaviour now.

"Maybe we shouldn't be fighting right now!" Johan finally choked out.

"Then what do you want from me? I love you and I thought that was all we needed…" Judai wasn't teasing anymore, but he still had to fight hard not to show how hurt he really was.

"I don't know, I don't… But Judai, I just got to thinking that…" Johan turned away, eyes darkening.

"Please, what? What did I do wrong?" Judai said.

"I got to thinking that you only wanted me for-"

"NO."

Johan's eyes widened. His head jerked up, his face a mask of surprise.

"How could you think that of me?! I know what you were about to say, and I just want you to know that if you finished that sentence, I'll kill you personally!! Is that the sort of person you think I am?" Judai could feel his face growing hotter, his hands shaking as he gripped his lover's shoulders. It getting harder to see through the held-back tears and his tongue felt thicker and more clumsy than normal. He buried his face in Johan's jacket, expressly forbidding his eyes to water more than they were doing already.

Johan was speechless. He had never seen Judai quite so upset. His voice had cracked at least twice during his speech, breaking Johan's heart open a little more with each word. Strong arms wrapped around Judai, gripping as though to never let him go.

"Can I… get my toothbrush back?"

Judai's head jerked up, a big, if somewhat awkward smile on his face, happiness radiating from his form. A red sleeve was brought up to wipe his eyes and the other hand went straight to Johan's, curling around it gently. Johan took the lead, smiling softly.

* * *

"So, boss, is he the right one? I mean, he sounds just like you described him. He's wearing blue, he's got good looks, and he's got a boyfriend who fits the other descriptions. Can we get him now?" the darkly dressed man muttered into his walkie-talkie, clearly impatient and cramped.

"Let me check out this kid. Keep tabs on him. If he really is the guy we're looking for, then you get a bigger cut of the profits. If those around him will be problems, do as you please." The crackly voice shut off with a click. The man in the bushes grinned, showing sharpened teeth that were a dazzling white.

"Nice," he said, and moved from his position.

* * *

"Anikiiii! Aniki!" Sho yelled.

"Sho? What's wrong; calm down!" Judai said.

"Aniki, something terrible has happened!"

Johan looked back and forth between the two of them, confused as ever. Sho was too hysterical to be clearly heard, but at least Judai seemed to have a vague idea what he was saying.

"What happened? Has the cafeteria run out of fried shrimp?!"

"Aniki, I'm serious!"

"So am I," Judai muttered. "But if that's not the problem, then what _is_?"

"I think…" Sho swallowed hard. "I think that Asuka-chan has been kidnapped!"

"Say _what_?!" both Judai and Johan yelled as one.

"It's true! I was going to ask her about… um, stuff which doesn't seem relevant anymore… and when she wasn't in her room, I started getting worried, so I looked around a little and I found this!" Sho reached into his shirt (why there, of all places, I ask you, do anime people keep all of their little knick-knacks??) and pulled out a much-rumpled paper with strange writing on it. Johan snatched it before Judai had the chance to do so, being the faster reader of the two.

"It says,

'This young girl will be gone by the time anyone

notices anything. We know that she has those

who care for her, so be warned: should no one

meet our demands, she will suffer the consequences.

We ask for very little: only 2 million dollars, American

currency, cash only, to be delivered per specifications

given upon your acceptance of our demands. Said

acceptance can be posted at the underside of the

docks on the West side of the island. In addition,

the student who delivers the notice must fit this

description: a third-year boy from Obelisk Blue

Dorm with blue or teal hair, bright green eyes,

black pants, and brown boots. If you wish to

decline the offer we have made, then send a

third-year boy from Slifer Red dormitories

with chocolate hair and eyes and jeans.

should you accept, further information

will be given to the messenger.'"

"Poor Asuka," Judai whispered. "They're going to kill her unless they get the money?"

"Seems like it. But what has me worried…"

"Hm?"

"Asuka can take care of herself, and as long as the culprits think that she can get them a payday, they won't harm her if they know what's good for them. I'm not too worried about her safety. What I'm worried about is the conditions for communications between the kidnappers and the school…" Johan's eyebrows drew together in worry.

"What about them? All it talks about is what the people should look like and…" Judai stopped short, his own eyes growing wide.

"You realized it, then."

"But… why on earth…?"

"Beats me."

"Pardon me, but I'm getting the feeling that I missed something important to the plot of this story," Sho said.

"You did," Johan said. "The note… is saying that either Judai or I must be the ones to deliver the notice of acceptance or declination. See? The descriptions, they match our appearances perfectly. There's no way that that's a coincidence, not to mention that they even mentioned my boots. I wear my boots from home; Duel Academy doesn't supply their students with shoes this colour or style. The description is specific to me. Also, Judai is one of the few people around campus that wears jeans, and he's definitely the only one who fits the rest of the description who does so. If this is a coincidence, I'm a dancing bear. Not to mention that since the physical appearance of the person means that there'd be no way to fool them into thinking that we are going to accept their terms and then turn on them. It's harder to fool a person when all they need to rely on is your appearance."

Sho looked at his feet. "Then what can we _do_…?"

"First off, we need to inform the principle, no matter _what_ transpires. Plus, there's no way in hell that just us students can rustle up 2 million in so little time. The office can contact her parents, or something like that," Johan said.

"Shouldn't we try to save her or something?" Judai asked, eyes painful.

"No," Johan said curtly. "If we try… we may put her in more danger than she needs to be in. We're not dealing with people who care at all about the world, or world powers for which we would have to duel. If that were the case, I'd say, go ahead and charge right in. But we're not. We're dealing with people who only care about money and won't care one bit about cards. They may just kill us if we try anything, or worse… they could decide to kill Asuka if things get too bad. They may not be able to afford lugging her around if she isn't the most cooperative of captives." Judai looked miserable, but his eyes showed grudging comprehension. "Let's go to the main building."

The three of them ran as fast as their legs could humanly carry them.

"Chancellor! Chancellor, please let us in, this is urgent!" Judai yelled.

"Can't you see that I'm in a meeting? Can't it wait?"

"Chancellor, if Judai wasn't fazed when psychos were trying to kill you all and take over the world and is clearly fazed now, then DUH it's serious enough to not be put off!" Johan growled. He had heard about the various incidents from Judai, with commentary from others thrown in. Either way, that decided the Chancellor.

"Please step out for a moment. I need to speak to these students," he said, motioning for the person in the other chair to leave the room politely. "Now what on earth is the problem?"

"Asuka is the problem. She vanished and all we got is this," Johan said, shoving the letter into Chancellor Samejima's hands. He read quickly, his eyebrows furrowing. By the time he finished, he was quite pale.

"About how long ago did this happen?"

Sho spoke up. "I was going to pay her a visit about fifteen minutes ago, and when I was asking around, people hadn't seen her for maybe a half an hour."

"Judai, Johan," he said, turning to the two taller of his informants, "do you have any idea why they want you two in particular to deliver the messages between our parties?"

Both shook their heads. "Wish we knew."

Samejima's lips tightened. "I… have never had an incident like this occur," he admitted. "Either way, contacting the parents is vital. I'm not looking forward to how they take the news."

"Chancellor!" Sho burst out.

"Hmm?"

"What… what if Asuka's parents… don't want to or can't pay the money it takes to get her back? Is there _anything_ we can do?"

"The school, in such in eventuality, does take some responsibility, so we can help pay. But we are not rich. We can't afford to pay all of it and not be in the poorhouse directly afterward. It may become necessary to stage a rescue. Either way this goes, you two are going to play a key role. After all, you are the messengers they specified. And thank you Sho, for alerting someone as soon as possible. Now, please, leave my office. I'll call one or both of you down if something changes."**(1)**

Minds laden down with new worries, the three of them left. Judai was wishing that Sho had never thought to ask about where the money was coming from. It was a scary thought, if Asuka's own parents couldn't save her.

"We need to tell the others," Judai said quietly.

"Yeah. Who do you think is going to take it the hardest?"

"…Ryo will, but he'll try not to appear worried to the best of his ability, which means that he's going to look like a totally heartless bastard when we tell him."

"Let's find out, then. Yellow dorms first; they're closer."

"…Okay. Sho, c'mon."

* * *

Everyone had been told.

There had been crying, hugging, shocked faces, people dropping whatever they were holding, and quite a few "WHAT??"s. It got worse with each person they told. Sho had retired to his room, unable to take the barrage of emotions that came with giving bad news to people he considered his own family. Speaking of Sho's family, Judai had been dead-on in his prediction of Ryo's behaviour. It had been a bit creepy in its accuracy.

Kenzan and O'Brien had wanted to stage a rescue mission straightaway, even if O'Brien was more subtle about it. Kenzan had picked up torches and pitchforks; O'Brien went for topo-maps**(2)** in order to plan the invasion of enemy territory.

Judai and Johan were sitting at the ledge of the cliff at the edge of the island, not sure that they could deal with more human interaction. It was the first time that they had been this close since the whole 'no touching' thing had been instigated. It was very nice just be near the other, even if neither was speaking or moving.

Judai leaned his head against Johan's shoulder, sighing as the sun began to disappear over the horizon.

"We… are the biggest idiots in the history of stupid people, aren't we?"

"…Yeah."

Nothing else needed saying.

* * *

**(1) **Yeah. In case you hadn't noticed, he'll call both Judai and Johan down to the office if her parents reject the money-providing thing. He'll only need to call Johan if her parents agree, seeing as he is the consensual messenger and would be needed to complete the transaction.

**(2) **If you have never heard of a topo-map, then you'll need to know that topo is short for topographic. Topo-maps have lines that connect in order to connect all of the spots on the land that have the same elevation. Between each line, there is usually an interval of an amount, usually specified in feet somewhere on the map. Topo-maps show the landscape of an area and are incredibly useful in war, battles, etc. Naturally, as one who grew up in the mountains, a very rugged place, knowing how to read and knowing the benefits of a topo-map would be basic knowledge for O'Brien. Kenzan, being kind of an idiot, would never think to consult one if he knew about them at all. Sorry if this confused anyone.

So? What did you think? TELL ME.

I really would like to know if should consider continuing this. I mean, I'll probably finish it anyway because I love the characters, but I'd like to know if I should post the ending when it comes about.


	2. High Hopes in Velvet Ropes by The Cab

W-wow… This fic seems to be a lot more popular than most of my other fics. So many people responded so quickly, I was actually quite taken aback. If I may be so bold as to ask, what was your favourite element of the first chapter? Of this chapter? If I know the favourites, then I can write more stuff like it. Liked the fluff? Sexual undertones/OVERtones? Dramatic scenes? Battles scenes (not gonna be too many of these, actually)? Just plain romance? Tell me. I'll write more of it.

I'm happy that so many people took to the first chapter, and I hope you like this one. Standard modest author's beginning.

DISCLAIMER: If I owned YGO gx, then for one, we'd see Haou's smexy ass WAY more, and for another, that whole 'Judai trapped in his own mind' thing would have had WAY more bondage references. It was a match made in heaven. Golden opportunity, and what does 4kids do? Screw the whole opportunity over. Selfish, that's what it is.

* * *

"Okay, so, is everything in place?" one darkly coloured man asked another.

"I think so. They're freaking out back at DA."

The taller man snorted. "Would'a loved to see that one. Those idiots."

"Except for a bit of bad luck," Shorter muttered. That caught Taller's attention.

"What bad luck? If this is because of a screw-up on our parts, our heads are gonna roll."

"No, no, not our fault, and it might not affect anything, but now those two are pretty much attached at the hip. If we nab one, we may be forced to take the other one, too."

"Damn. So nothing really goes as planned… well, whatever. Plans are plans. Money is money. All you really have to do for this one is keep an extra cell open for an accidental guest. No other changes to the plan."

"…Understood."

* * *

"They… they can't afford it?" Judai breathed, pale. No one else could speak.

Samejima sighed. "Apparently, it was all they could do to send her here. Her father was recently made redundant, so they were living off of an inheritance until he could find work elsewhere. The inheritance can't cover a cost of 2 million and keep her parents alive for long. They have no way of helping their daughter. I cry for those in the world who are plagued with such unfortunate circumstances. It would seem that the entire family went downhill ever since Fubuki-san's initial disappearance."

Fubuki nodded slightly. "I heard about my parents' financial problems from Asuka-chan… I was going to go home and get a job for the summer." He looked the worst off of all of them, not surprisingly.

"So it's up to us lot," O'Brien said.

"Poor Asuka," Sho said.

"Seriously. With people like us trying to save her, she's pretty much _doomed_." As harsh as the comment was, the others couldn't help but agree with Manjoume.

Kenzan shook a pitchfork forlornly. Ryo said nothing at all.

"We can only stage an attack if we know where the kidnappers are. In that respect, we're at a great advantage," O'Brien noted.

"Huh? But, we don't know where they are. How can that be good for us?" Johan asked.

O'Brien's mouth twitched. "Where are we?"

"Duel Academy?" Judai was a little shocked that someone little O'Brien had asked such a stupid question.

"Let's ask someone who isn't a complete retard." Johan kicked the darker boy in such a way that no one saw.

"We're on an island," Jim muttered.

"Precisely. That means that the culprit is undoubtedly on this island and we can narrow down where they are fairly easily. _That_ is what I was talking about when I mentioned advantages."

"Let Judai and me look!"

"Huh?" Samejima looked a little surprised at Johan's outburst.

"It makes sense! Judai and I can both see and communicate with duel spirits! We can send messages back and forth between the two of us if anything happens with Kuriboh or Ruby! And I really, really doubt that any of the kidnappers have similar abilities. The two of us make a perfect search party. We'll know if anything happens to the other one. We'll be able to find this place no matter what happens!" Johan said.

"That's actually a good idea. If Judai can fight his A.D.D. for longer than ten minutes, the two of you may just make the perfect scouts," Ryo commented. Judai stuck out his tongue, seeing as Johan was too far away to kick the offender this time.

"Please," Johan asked again, "let us do this. We want to help in any way we can." Judai nodded emphatically.

After O'Brien and Ryo vouched for their reliability, Chancellor Samejima sighed and let them do as they please. Judai gave a smile that made Johan's heart nearly stop.

"Let's go," he grinned.

"'Kay," Johan said, still a little blinded from the shine.

* * *

"Okay, we're going to split up," Judai said. "O'Brien said that I should take this side of the island, over by the abandoned lab. You'll take the other side. Naturally, Kuriboh and Ruby should be with us the whole time. So, are we set? Do we have everything?"

Johan patted himself down. Flashlight: check. Rope: check. Ruby Carbuncle spirit: check. Flash grenade: check. Johan wasn't sure why this school had flash grenades, but they were proving useful, so he didn't question it too much. Pepper spray: check. Signal flare: double check. So why did it feel like he'd forgotten something really vital?

"Ah!" Johan's fist thunked into his open palm. "That's what I forgot."

"Huh? What?" Judai almost didn't finish for Johan's mouth covering his own. Tongues danced for a very long time before they broke the kiss. Judai's knees may have given out on him if his lover's firm grip hadn't kept him upright. At least Johan looked thoroughly pleased with himself.

"Don't let anything happen to you. But even if you do, I'll come for you. I don't care what it is, just call me. For anything." And Judai was alone, left to his own search.

_How on Earth did I survive not touching him for so long?_ Judai wondered, conveniently forgetting his frequent attempts at seduction.

* * *

"God dammit," Johan muttered. "I knew it. The sun hits this place a lot, so the vegetation is so damn thick you can't see your hands in front of your face. Stupid island. Stupid sun. Stupid plants. Gah. Why in hell did I suggest this?" Johan asked Ruby.

"Rrrrrow."

"Excellent point. Still, doesn't explain where my sudden burst of stupid came from."

"Eeuww, rrowwwwr, roow?"

"Could be. But maybe we shouldn't be talking. The kidnappers could be right around here for all I can see, and if they hear me talking to nothing, they're going to think I'm clean out of my mind. As gay as this is totally going to sound, straightjackets are NOT flattering."

"Meow, neeeow?"

"Y'know, maybe I should. I could outshine Carson Kressley any day. Though, knowing Judai, he would probably serve as our personal Ted Allen. Wonder who the others would be, though. Kenzan acts like Jai sometimes…" **(1)**

A twig snapped.

Johan spun around, then stopped short, his eyes incredibly wide.

"You… you're…!"

* * *

Judai was bored out of his freaking mind. It was understandable, seeing as all of this land was territory that he had been over a hundred and two times before when he was supposed to be in class. There weren't many places for evil criminal masterminds to hide. Besides, if they really were holding Asuka, then there would be no way that they would be able to keep her so near to the actual school building.

"He did it on purpose," he grumbled.

"Kuri-rii?"

"Johan. He got me to search this part of the island so that I wouldn't find the kidnappers. He's making sure that he's the one who finds them. He's trying to protect me if they're packing." Judai shook his head, half in disgust, half in resignment. "Sometimes he's _too _overprotective."

He smiled. At least he would always know that Johan cared.

"But he needs to learn that if he gets hurt in my place that it hurts _me_. He doesn't value himself enough. Men," he groaned jokingly. "If there really are kidnappers out and about, I bet you anything that they think I'm a crazy. I don't blame 'em."

And here was the cliff that he and Johan had been sitting on just last night. It had been nice, even if their friend had just been kidnapped. It was so silly that even when things were terrible, Judai's heart still skipped around like a little girl's whenever he neared the taller boy. Silly, but wonderful.

That kiss had been so sweet. His lips still tingled a bit when he thought about. It had been the first mutual contact between them since… well, however long it had been had been too long. _Any_ amount of time was too long to go without a kiss like _that_. Judai had completely forgotten how… well, aggressive… his lover could sometimes be. Here was his timely reminder, right on time. Judai needed to forget things about Johan more often.

Judai's ears twitched slightly. There was someone approaching him from behind. He sighed. It was probably Johan coming to say that he couldn't find anything and that they ought to head back. Or maybe that they would be picking up the search where they left off tomorrow.

Judai turned on a heel, expecting to see Johan. Instead, he gasped, going pale.

"You- you are…!"

* * *

"A-Asuka!"

"Oh, thank God, Johan!" The taller girl threw herself at him, a look of great relief on her face.

"You're alright!"

She looked at him strangely. "Yeah. I just got a little lost, but thank the Lord Almighty that _some_one found me."

Johan was befuddled. "But how did you escape the kidnappers?"

Asuka outright stared at him like he was a Martian. "Kidnappers?" she repeated. "I'm pretty sure I'd know if I were kidnapped. And I, quite clearly, am not."

"How on earth…" Johan muttered. "But we got a note from the kidnappers and everything. It was in your room, and you were gone…"

Her eyes widened. "It was a setup," she breathed. "I came out here like I usually do to work on stuff and got lost on the way back. They took advantage of that and tried to milk the school for all its worth."

"'Work on stuff'?" Johan questioned. She blushed.

"I hand-make all of the birthday and Christmas gifts. I don't want people to ever find their presents before I give them to them, so I come out here and hide them here, too. Tell anyone and I'll hurt you. Take advantage and try to peek and I'll be throwing you out of your own window, and in case you've forgotten, you're on the third floor."

Johan looked to the side, thinking. "Then the scope of suspects becomes broader. It could be anyone in the school, just playing a joke or something. It could be a student, a teacher… only someone who has been around you for a while could possibly know your schedule, even your secret agendas, well enough to stage something like this. There's probably no kidnapper to be worried about after all!" Johan smiled in relief. "Thank Goodness. Let's find Judai and go home. We'll need to tell your parents, too. They think that you're going to be killed or something. Best to tell them as soon as possible."

"Holy crapcakes, Batman! Do-do they really think I'm dead?"

"Probably."

"Oh, man, let's go!"

"We gotta find Judai first!" Johan protested.

A terrible scream ripped through the air that turned Johan's blood cold.

"… I think someone else found him first," Asuka whispered, white as death.

* * *

**(1)** For those poor, sad people who don't know, Carson Kressley, Ted Allen, Jai Rodriguez, Thom Filicia (not mentioned), and Kyan Douglas (also unmentioned) are the people who make up a group called the 'Fab Five' in _Queer Eye for the Straight Guy_, or just _Queer Eye_. This group of people takes socially awkward people or otherwise challenged folks and gives them a makeover as best they can. By the way, all of them are gay, hence the name of the show. Carson does the clothes, Jai does pop culture and human relations, Thom to interior design, Kyan hair and personal hygiene, and Ted does food, alcohol, etc. The fact that Johan is saying that Judai would make a good Ted is a joke on Judai's rather gluttonous habits. Ouch. You _know_ it's bad if your _boyfriend_ jokes you for it. A good portion of this chapter was written to the opening for this show (All Things Just Keep Getting Better).

Sorry that this chapter was shorter. Most of the chapters will be anywhere from five to seven pages long in word, whereas the first chapter was _sixteen_. Yeah. This will make it possible for me to do one-day interval updates. Like this one.

Review fast or die slow.


	3. Hello Alone by Anberlin

For last chapter, I had very little inspiration to keep me going. Well, actually, I had inspiration coming out the ears. Just not for that one chapter. All of the awesome ideas that I had could only come into play later, aka, NOW. So, naturally, this chapter came VERY easily. That being said, I hope you like it. Weird plot twists are my forte, so don't expect anything to be what it looks like. Except for the love between Johan and Judai. That is the unquestionable factor, as it really should be in _every_ Spiritshipping fic. I'm so tired of fics where one of the two of them starts doubting the other one and then goes into emo-ville. One must never doubt love. Fear is a-okay, as long as there is little room for doubt. That's a lesson to be learned in real life, too: don't doubt your lover! Being a jealous, untrusting prick will not get you points.

DISCLAIMER:

Judai: Johan-tan!

Johan: Judai-tan!

Judai: Zettai aishiteru!

Johan: Watashi mo!

Both: YOKATAAAA! (kissu)

You know I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX because the scene above didn't happen in the actual show. Dammit.

* * *

Judai's vision was fuzzy and unclear at best. It felt like his mind was completely swamped with some kind of mud or something equally disgusting. He wasn't sure if he could move anything because the thought never crossed his mind. But at least he was awake, to a degree. He blinked, for that was the only thing that he _could_ do. His eyesight did not improve. He tried to focus his efforts elsewhere. A few stray thoughts popped up, but they were impossible to pin down. A few were about Johan. One was about food, predictably. Judai was almost sure that one of them was his captor's face. Another was a thought about thinking. That one was confusing, which spawned more pointless and irritating thoughts about thinking about thinking about thinking about thinking. Such thoughts were definitely _not_ helping him concentrate. Judai thought specific thoughts to himself as hard as he could, trying to concentrate not only on thinking the words, but comprehending them as well. When his mind felt as weird as it did now, it was hardly an easy feat. _I'm pretty sure I was drugged. There's no way that my condition would be this bad otherwise. I hope I don't have a fever. I hope to God that they didn't get Johan. Maybe Hane Kuriboh found him. Maybe he's going to attempt something really stupid like a rescue without consulting somebody else first. That idiot. That's totally something he'd do. I love him to pieces, but one day I really need to sit him down and teach him about a beautiful thing called 'common sense in the face of danger'. Weird. I'm thinking about common sense. If O'Brien or Jim heard about this, then they'd start laughing straightaway. But good old Johan would kick them both before five seconds were up. Dear God, I love that man._

It was getting easier to think, easier to analyze his situation as best he could. Even his eyesight had improved a little, but the world still looked like it did when one opened his or her eyes underwater without goggles on. Judai now knew perfectly well that he couldn't move not because of his drugged befuddlement, but because he was bound, hand and foot. He also was aware that Kuriboh was nowhere nearby. Maybe he really _had_ gone to fetch Johan. Well, that much was going according to plan.

Judai's eyesight had improved rapidly. He could now see that he was in a fairly dark room with very uneven walls. Actually, it looked more like a cave than a room now. He could only make out very dim outlines, but what he _did _see consisted of food, bedrolls for at least three people, lanterns, boxes so small they could only be holding matches, and a good number of other provisions for a lengthy stay in rugged terrain. It did not escape Judai's attention that there were a few abandoned sets of walkie-talkies lying around.

It looked like a regular camper's hideaway, once you got past the guns in one corner.

From what Judai could see, this place had to be the sole living quarters of the kidnappers. Even _he_ knew that you weren't supposed to keep gunpowder in the same room as things like matches, lighters, etc. If they were forced to keep all of these things in one place, then there was nowhere else they could go. If that were true, then they would've had nowhere else to stash Asuka. But Asuka wasn't here. That much was clear. There was nothing to suggest that anyone had been kept here for an entire day. Judai couldn't help but wonder where on earth she was if she hadn't been kidnapped.

Hey, wait just a damn minute.

Voices.

Voices were coming from outside the cave: three of them, arguing heatedly but quietly amongst themselves. Sure enough, three men entered the cave. One was comically short, another a little on the tall side. The third one was of an average height. This one seemed to be the one dominating the conversation. Judai could make out some words, but his brain was still not working well enough to really take in their meaning enough to pick out the missing pieces. The short man pointed straight at Judai.

"Aww, hell, I think he's waking up."

"You didn't use enough, if he's waking up this soon after being drugged."

"I'm terribly sorry sir. I'll be more careful next time."

"Damn skippy. I don't want this kid hitting the buttons on any locators or anything equally fancy he might have on him. Duel Academy could be able to find us through him if we let him run about unchecked."

Some terrible-smelling cloth was placed over Judai's nose and mouth. He nearly gagged, but almost instantly felt himself falling under again. _Back again we go_, he thought dejectedly before everything went dark all over again.

* * *

"JUDAIIII!"

"Johan, he's not-"

"JUDAAAAIII!"

"Johan, maybe we should-"

"JUUUUUDAAAAAIII!!" Johan sank to his knees, out of breath and out of patience. "And no, Asuka, I'm not going back to Duel Academy without him!"

Asuka's face tightened. "I know how you feel-"

"Oh do you, do you now? You sure about that?" he snapped.

"Yes," she replied firmly. "Because I feel the same way. In every meaning of the phrase. I want to stay out here. I want to look for him until my arms and legs are bleeding and I have no voice left with which to shout for him, but that isn't the best thing that we can do for him right now. This was a trap, and I hate that I was a part of it! We can only help him if we enlist the help of others, and right now, you're making it SO much harder than it needs to be!"

He stared down at his fingers, shaking. He was angry with her, but also a little ashamed for being angry. She didn't blame him; she only wanted to knock some sense into his head.

"Fine…" he whispered, "but as soon as they know what's happened up there, I'm coming right back down here. I don't care what they say then. Anyone else who wants to come can."

"Thank you," Asuka said, trying to smile. Judai's scream was still heavily embedded in her mind. She wanted to find him alive as badly as Johan did. After all, if he thought that he was the only one who loved Judai, he was dead wrong.

They trudged up the side of the island, both completely silent. Ruby tried to mew her own thoughts, but she could sense Johan's inner turmoil and fell silent herself.

It had gotten quite late, so most of the students were not out and about. No one saw the two of them make their way to the Chancellor's office. Johan opened the door, throwing it wide.

"T-Tenjoin-kun!! You're alright! Thank goodness! Ah, but, uh, where is Judai-kun?" asked Samejima.

"It was a setup," Johan said simply.

"I was never kidnapped at all. I went out into the forest for reasons of my own and just got lost on the way back. I don't know how the culprit knew my personal schedule, but either way…" Asuka turned her face away in shame.

"Judai was taken. We heard him scream and we know where he vanished, but we can't find him now. I know, I searched that bluff for a couple hours at least."

Samejima cupped his face in his hands. "How… how on earth did something like this _happen_? Nothing of the like has ever happened in the history of the school! Why me!" Johan and Asuka exchanged looks at this over-exaggerated show of self-pity. "Tenjoin-kun, you still need to speak to your parents. I will call all of your friends here and you can explain to them in full," he said.

"Thank you, sir." Asuka took the hand phone on his desk and began dialing a number. As she spoke in hushed tones of reassurance, the Chancellor made announcements to various dorms to send Kenzan, Sho, Ryo, Jim, O'Brien, Rei, and Misawa down to the office.

Not ten minutes later, the entire congregation burst through the door, panting and demanding to know what had happened. Half of them were in pajamas.

All gasped to see Asuka safe and sound and ran over to her (save for Ryo, of course. He simply nodded his head regally in her direction, which she graciously accepted). "Guys, I am so sorry that I worried you all. Now, I have to tell the story in full. You're not going to believe me."

They sat in various places, situating themselves for the story. It was Rei, predictably, who noticed first.

"Huh? Where's Judai-sama? Shouldn't he be with you?" she asked Johan.

Asuka answered for the blunette, her face tight again. "That… is also part of my story."

She took a deep breath and began, explaining the whole story in detail, though she still refused to tell the others what she had been doing out in the forest in the first place. There were some parts of the story that Johan had not heard yet, though.

"…And so when it was getting a little dark, I was thinking of heading back, but for some reason, I got really sleepy. I passed out by a tree, I think, but when I woke up, I was at some place I didn't recognize. If I had been by that tree, I would've been able to find my way home easily, but I had no clue where I was in relation to Duel Academy, so you can see where I got a little lost. I had been wandering around for a little while when I heard Johan muttering to himself, or, more likely, to Ruby, am I right?" Johan nodded a confirmation. And we were going to go rendezvous with Judai, but…" Asuka bit her bottom lip, turning her face again.

"Judai was kidnapped for real. It was all an elaborate trap to get one of us," Johan heard himself saying. "We heard him scream. Hane Kuriboh came to fetch us, but by the time that we got to the place where Judai had been, they had taken him away. We don't know where he is, nor do we know his condition. We're right back where we started, or maybe a lot worse off."

The others either gasped or hid their faces, depending on their natures. Jim, O'Brien, and Ryo all just looked at Johan with pity on their faces. Their thoughts showed on their faces quite clearly: _I can't imagine what it must be like for him. It must be terrible, having the one you love be snatched out from under your very nose._

Frankly, Johan thought that not one of them should be worried for _him_. They should be concentrating on getting _Judai_ back. That was all that mattered at this point.

That was all that should ever matter.

* * *

Judai was awake again. He had no idea how long it had been since the brief spell of alertness before, but he knew that it was dark out. The men seemed to not mind that he was awake this time, which was a blessing in itself. Judai liked being awake a lot better than being out cold and helpless. It wasn't a good feeling. Plus, the drug, whatever it was, smelled like death.

The men spoke to someone that had yet to show themselves over the walkie-talkies all the time. The orders were coming from the mystery person. Oddly enough, two of them proved to be almost good-natured, in the gruff bad guy sort of way. They had even given him names to call him by (aliases, of course) so that he wouldn't have to call them improvised names, which often were slightly insulting. The rather tall man wanted to be called Brian and the short man wanted to be Allen. Judai had raised eyebrows at their choice of non-de plumes, but decided to let it go. Brian was the nicer of the two, but either way, he knew that they weren't going to let him go anytime soon.

"Umm… Brian-san?"

"Hmm? What do you need, kid?"

Judai swallowed, eyeing the hotdog that his captor was cooking over a small fire. The man followed his gaze and laughed nervously.

"Sorry. Really am. I'm kind of on strict orders. 'Sides, we _need_ this food. As soon as we set demands, they're probably going to get you back right away. You'll get food soon enough, but in the meantime, we scoundrels over here have no reliable source of nourishment other than that which we already have. We can't afford to give any to you," he said apologetically. Judai had already picked up on the fact that Brian was the talker.

"Oh. Ah, it's okay, I don't mind."

"You're a good kid." Allen whacked his much taller companion over the head with a skewering stick, giving him the look that said 'don't get too close to the captive, you clod'. Poor Brian had gotten that look a lot in the past hour or so.

"Speaking of which," Allen muttered, "we really _should_ be sending the demands soon. I wonder when that guy is ever going to get around to it."

"I know, right?"

"Wait no longer." The two men spun around in their sitting positions, staring as openly as Judai at the third kidnapper. Judai had never gotten a name for this one, having only heard him referred to as 'that guy'. Judai… was a little afraid of the third man.

"You mean… demands now?"

"That's right," he said. He hefted a camcorder in one hand and a camera stand in the other, beginning to set it up. He sent a toothy grin at Judai, which made his skin crawl. "We'll be sending a nice video feed. Let's make 'em squirm a little, huh?"

Judai's jaw locked as he tried to edge away from him. Seeing as he was in a cave with a solid rock wall at his back, this plan didn't go as well as hoped. But the man noticed, and laughed in that creepy way.

"Nervous? Should be. These two idjits don't really _get_ the concept of kidnapping. The victim ought to be afraid, right? They coddle you too much. Well, I'll fix that right up," he never stopped smiling. "Brian, hit the record button and then get the hell out. Bring the midget with you." Allen's mouth twitched downward at the insult but left as instructed.

Judai did _not_ want to be alone in the same place as That Guy.

"Hey, there Duel Academy! As you can see, I've got myself a nice, real, live captive this time. He's sweet, right?" A hand came up and cupped the side of Judai's face. The boy's eyes darkened as he shied away from the touch.

"Well, here's the deal. You want him back, and I know that _I_ certainly don't want him. So we'll trade, nice and simple. Person for a person. You give up someone in your care, and I'll send the little tyke back over to you. Here's who I want: Johan. Andersen."

Judai's eyes shot open and he couldn't help the horrified gasp that escaped him.

"Hmm? Oh, that's right, you know the kid. Well, then maybe Johan would be a little more willing to… cooperate… if…"

Hands were suddenly where they shouldn't be. Lips that were rough and most decidedly unwanted were preventing a scream. Judai settled for a muffled yelp of indignance. Then the hands moved south.

Judai couldn't help it. He cried out. He fought back as best he could, but while tied up and held down, there was very little he could do. He threw his head from side to side to try and throw the older man off. He almost cried, but he remembered that Johan might be watching. Johan had to know that he was okay. He could still escape. Johan had to know that he shouldn't give himself up. There was still a chance. Just one look, that was all it would take. He looked straight at the camera and tried to force as much feeling into that one look as he could. He could only pray that Johan would get the message.

_Please,_ he prayed,_ I don't care if this guy murders or rapes me, or whatever. Just so long as Johan is still safe at the end of this thing. Johan… please don't be stupid for my sake._

"Remember what could happen if these demands aren't met.

The man reached up and hit 'stop'.

Just like that, the hands were gone. Judai lay there, pressed flat to the ground, breathing heavily. His shoulder and spine were hurting like a mother, but other than that, was completely okay. Without a second look at the half-molested boy on the floor, the man left.

Brian and Allen ran in, asking questions simultaneously. Brian pulled Judai up with very concerned eyes.

"Kid, are you alright? What did that sick fuck do to you?"

"Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Can you still talk?"

Judai tried to look at them straight, but his sight was going fuzzy all over again. "I'm okay… but… Jo…han…"

His world was dark, and in more ways than one.

* * *

Chancellor Samejima turned off the VCR with a grave look on his face.

"This tape was delivered about half an hour ago. Decisions ought to be made now."

Johan stepped forward.

"I'm going."

* * *

Oooh, drama!

I really wanted to make some bad guys that are real people, but still bad guys. Everyone portrays bad guys as either good guys who are somewhat brainwashed or totally psycho people who just want to either take over the world or kill people. I love villains who know perfectly well that what they do is wrong, and are able to accept that and live their lives like normal folks or maintain a human personality. I'm not looking for a good guy. I'm looking for a human being.

Please, review! Once again, I find myself shocked at the masses of feedback I get with each chapter. A lot of my fanfiction never gets noticed, so I'm used to _maybe_ two reviews per chapter? Now I'm getting, like _five_ a chapter and it's making my head spin.

Thanks so much for reading!


	4. Dangerous and Moving by tAtu

W-wow… This fic seems to be a lot more popular than most of my other fics

Most of the reviews for the last chapter involved some sort of threat directed at Man #3. In fact, many were exceedingly violent. I have decided to have one (or maybe a couple of) extra omake chapter(s) at the end of the fic that has all of the cutscenes. There would be lots of Slut!Jaden, Man #3 bashing, and anything else that people comment on. After all, it's my fic. I can work in anything I want. I could work in Rent-A-Zilla if I wanted to. But I won't, because that belongs to Fred, owner of Megatokyo. #le sigh#

DISCLAIMER: REMIALCSID

* * *

"I'm going."

"Johan, no! You can't!" Asuka begged.

"You saw what that… _bastard _did! You really expect me to sit here and do absolutely _nothing_?" Johan's voice shook with anger.

"Asuka's right; we've got a clue now as to where they are. We can rescue Judai without having to give you up," O'Brien said.

"I'm agreein' with these guys. We don't want to lose Aniki, but we definitely don't want _you_ going away, either!" Kenzan said, his own face a little red with rage. The fact that first-instinct fight-now-talk-maybe-never Boy was suggesting that he stay behind made Johan actually pause for a few seconds.

"And how do you propose we find the bastard's hideout?"

"The video," Misawa said. Everyone turned to him in surprise. They had forgotten that he was there. Poor Misawa; that sort of thing seemed to happen a lot.

"The video? But it didn't show anything," Sho muttered.

"Wrong. We saw what was behind Judai, right?"

"Solid rock," O'Brien said.

"A lot o' shadows, pro'bly from a campfi'e or something like it," Jim said. "And mo'e shadows over'ead than anywhere else." A few glances were sent his way. He shrugged, a difficult feat with Karen on his back. "What can I say? I notice the lit'le things."

"Right. Based on these clues, we can infer that Judai is being held in a cave of some sort. I really doubt that this island is just overflowing with caves. There should only be a few that we have to check. Chancellor, would you happen to have a perfect map of this island including the positions of said caves around the coast or otherwise?"

Samejima nodded, not entirely sure what was going on anymore. He got up from his seat to rifle around a file cabinet drawer before finding what he was looking for. He handed four separate maps to Misawa. "We needed four separate maps to show each part of the island in the most detail," he explained.

"Excellent," Misawa said. "This way, the search parties can each have their own part of the map. Okay, so here we are. There are five caves around the island's coast and nine of us. Actually, eight. Johan needs to stay back here, because I know that if he finds the kidnapper, he's going to jump in without bothering to contact the rest of us first." Johan gave Misawa a DeathGlare.

Asuka looked at the Southwest portion of the map. "Actually, there are only three caves that we need to search."

"Huh?"

"Well, see, this one over here is pretty low in terms of elevation. It's a little below sea level, so whenever there's a high tide, it floods a little. There's no way that any sane kidnapper would use such a place, not to mention that the walls of the cave would show at least a little evidence; brine residue on the walls or something. The rocks in the video were dry and clean. And this cave over here actually caved in a few weeks ago. It took a big hit what with that earthquake, even though it wasn't that big of one to really bother us."

"Oh! Well, that narrows it down," Misawa said, smiling.

"Can I _please_ come along? If there are three places that need searching, then I should come! Then we would have nine people, an even split-up! I won't rush in screaming, I swear! I'll even wait to beat up that bastard!" Johan begged, looking up at the more sympathetic Sho with puppydog eyes.

"Umm, guys, a little help? I can only resist him for so long!" Sho whimpered, trying not to look directly at Johan's face.

"Oh, fine. He can come, but I'll hold him to that promise," Misawa groaned.

"_Thank_ you," Johan said.

"Alright. The groups are: Johan, Sho, and Ryo will go to this one is the Northwest. Rei, O'Brien, and Jim will go to this one in the Northeast. Asuka, Kenzan, and I will go to the cave in the Southwest. And… that's it. Try not to die."

"Great advice," Ryo muttered.

"If anyone finds the right cave, do NOT just dive in. Page the rest of us, and we will come and back you up. Then all nine of us can kick the crap out of this guy and no one gets left out," O'Brien said, looking straight at Johan.

"Save some fo' me, too, mate," Jim said. "I don't like bein' left out."

"Alright, then, men-"

"AHEM."

"-_and_ ladies, yeesh. MOVE OUT!"

* * *

Judai had been touched inappropriately twice since the video demands thing. Brian and Allen had proved useless as ever both times. Both expressed regret that they were doing nothing, but never did much about it.

"Well, I get paid to listen to him. Besides, this sort of thing is kind of routine for us. We don't like the idea of, well, y'know, _molesting a child_, but at the same time it doesn't faze us enough to put our paychecks on the line over it. Sorry, kid. If luck is with you, your friends will trade for you before that guy completely rapes you," had been the excuse given when Judai first mentioned it. Judai had begun to rethink his opinions of the people that were around him the most while in the cave. He still had not been fed and was losing strength faster than he would've believed possible.

He needed to escape, and quickly.

Judai had been looking every which way around the cave as subtly as he could over a long period of time, searching for a nice escape route, or something to fuel a burst of inspiration. Bursts of inspiration were always nice at times like these. He could only see a little sliver of the outside world from his seat at the back of the cave, but it was enough. From when the light from the sun reached the little crack, Judai believed that he was somewhere on the west side of the island. That didn't tell him much, though.

Brian was asleep on the floor and Allen was staring blankly at something, clearly zoning out the same way that Judai did during class. The third man was nowhere in sight and, if he followed patterns, would not be returning for another two hours or so.

Well, now was as good a time as any.

Judai considered himself a very good pickpocket. Even when first being groped by a gross old man, he'd kept his wits and quick fingers steady. He'd stolen the man's pocketknife from his back pocket. Said knife had been busily sawing away at the ropes binding the boy's legs every time that the men all were away or zoning out. Judai was on the very last coil of rope and was very close to being completely free of ankle bonds. He figured that he could run perfectly well, even with his hands tied. Running with his legs tied might be a little harder.

He lightly shifted his hands under the seat of his jeans, eyes flicking to Allen occasionally. No movement. Nice.

Judai smiled slightly and began to saw merrily away at the rope. In less than three minutes, he was free and Allen was still off in lala land. The boy pulled his arms under his feet so that his hands were pressed to his chest… and ran for all he was worth, using the cave wall as a balance to kick off from.

Judai, being a light person with an incredible metabolism, was REALLY fast.

Allen, this time around, noticed right away. He yelped and attempted to catch him, but tripped over the legs of his taller partner and was sent sprawling.

Judai laughed openly. Freedom! His strength (or what was left of it) was going to give out any minute, but either way, he was out in the open air! This was something to be celebrated!

Or not. Now both Allen _and_ Brian were awake and irritated.

"Get back here!" Allen hissed.

"My paycheck! My nap! You'll ruin both!" Brian groaned.

_Oh, crap, _Judai thought, wincing.

A hand clamped down over one shoulder. Judai's blood ran cold.

_Haou? Please… this is going to come out badly, I just know it, but… might I ask for a favour?_

…_What kind of favour?_

_I would like to not be caught by these guys, if you please. That would be all you're allowed to do, no more. Just, I don't know, get me out of here?_

…_Do you mind it too much if these guys don't make it out with all limbs attached?_

Judai sighed internally. _If you must, go ahead._

_Sweet. Make way for the Supreme King._ The last thing that Judai consciously thought was that perhaps this was a mistake. There was no chance to take it back, however, because the darkness was closing in as he retreated back to the place with the mirrors.

Judai's eyes in the real world had suddenly changed colour. Their usual, lovely shade of chocolate was now a cold golden colour, not unlike cat's eyes.

He had also stopped running.

The men behind him stopped as well, looking at each other. What was going on?

If they had known, they probably would've kept running – just in the opposite direction.

The ropes still around Judai's wrists snapped, or rather, _exploded_. The kidnappers gulped, going pale. Judai turned around to face them fully. Allen nearly wet himself. IN a flash of red and black, the boy's form vanished. He was up in the air, now descending. His knees landed squarely on Brian's shoulders, fingers instantly intertwined with the collar of his shirt. A quick pushoff and Judai flipped over Brian's head. The rest of the tall man's body caught the momentum and was sent, half strangled with his own shirt, into a tree trunk. Allen shook. Judai vanished once more, appearing behind the shorter man. He swung out one foot and Allen landed on his face. One leg was brought up, perfectly straight, then brought down on Allen's spine with a sickening _crack_.

"_Pathetic,_" Haou observed. _"Judai, are you seriously telling me that you were having trouble with these plebes? Ah, well. A deal's a deal. I suppose I had a bit of fun."_

His eyes morphed back to their normal colour. The threatening aura of death was gone, as well. Judai looked around him, pale. Well, at least both men were still alive. At least, Allen was. Judai was afraid to check Brian's pulse in case a) the man was alive and alert or b) the man was actually dead. Touching dead people was not on Judai's to-do list.

Judai turned on his (now free!) heels and began to run like hell all over again. He almost thought that he could see the abandoned lab when a tree root caught his foot. The boy slammed into the ground, crying out as he did so. His foot was bent at a strange angle and he was afraid to put weight on it. It might be only a sprain. It might be horribly broken. Either way, Judai… was in big trouble if no one found him.

Judai wouldn't be able to run away this time.

* * *

"Johan, please _try_ to stay with us, at least for ten whole minutes," Ryo asked, rubbing his head. Sho wasn't faring much better.

"Maybe the two of _you_ ought to _try_ to keep up with _me_. You guys walk a little slow, no offense."

"I'm trying not to trip. There are a lot of tree roots around here that just pop up out of nowhere."

"Yeah! I'm trying not to sprain anything, thank you very much!" Sho squeaked, and was promptly ignored.

"Hey… I think I can see the abandoned lab from here," Johan muttered.

"But what does that have to do with anything?"

"It doesn't, really. Just wondering if Judai had escaped or something by now. If I were him, if I didn't know which direction Duel Academy was in, I'd head to the first thing I saw that looked familiar. If he's in these parts at all, he might've gone here."

"If he escaped already," said Ryo.

"If he escaped already," he agreed.

A small yelp of pain echoed slightly, not a hundred yards from where they stood. Johan would recognize that voice anywhere.

"JUDAI!"

* * *

Yay for fight scenes. I'm actually really proud of Judai.

If you want an idea of what kind of fancy stuff Haou is doing, watch

http : / youtube . com / watch ? v8RY4kSMxV0

without the spaces at about 9:30 to 10:10. It's a little more violent in the animation, but then again, they have guns and Haou does not. I shudder to think what would happen if Haou ever got ahold of some heavy artillery.

Once more, review fast or die slow.


	5. You Found Me by Kelly Clarkson

Hiya, darlings. I've had a lot of stuff going on lately, so if this chapter ends up coming out later than the others have taken, it's not my fault, really. I feel like crap and I've been sleeping and reading for a good chunk of the day. Well, at least Judai and Johan are here to wish me luck throughout the day. At least, they are in my head. Perhaps I've gone a bit mental. Perhaps I was that way to start out with.

I was watching Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill last night and it's one of the funniest damn things I have ever seen. Yay for British comedians! God Attack the Queen – send dogs to bite her on the bum!

DISCLAIMER: Can we do this later? I'm a little busy being sued by 4kids for stealing _their_ show, the greedy little bastards. Apparently, it doesn't belong to me for me to do with as I wish. Who knew?

* * *

"Johan?" Judai's head shot up, his heart skipping a beat or two.

"Judai!"

"I'm over here!" It didn't occur to the brunette that the word 'here' was very unhelpful.

"Thank God! Are you alright, what happened? How did you escape? Thank Heaven you're okay!" Johan's arms wrapped around his lover as he dropped to his knees. They held each other crushingly close for a few seconds before parting a little. Johan dove straight into an open-mouthed kiss, moaning and trying to touch every part of Judai at once. Judai was perfectly content with being ravaged. Johan's tongue wrapped around Judai's own, pushing for dominance. The smaller boy would've normally given it, but his own passion made him press back. Somehow or another, jackets were slowly inching off of shoulders and belts were suddenly much looser. Shirts in general were becoming entirely unnecessary. Johan's hands played their way up and under Judai's shirt. Judai moaned heavily into the kiss, nearly falling over backward with his lover on top of him when-

"Ahem."

Both boys looked up, red in the face and still connected with a small line of spit.

Ryo coughed subtly. "As fun as it would be to stay here and watch the two of you go at it like bunnies, perhaps we ought to get out of here in case the kidnapper finds us before the others do." Sho was trying to hide his face behind his hands and was shaking, either from laughing or crying.

"Oh, uh, right…" Johan said.

"Um… two of them are already kind of taken care of," Judai said nervously.

"…? 'Two of them'?" Johan asked.

"Yeah. There were three. Two of them are either dead or out cold." The others exchanged glances.

"Now how did _that_ one happen?"

"I panicked and… uh, asked Haou for a spot of help."

"You did WHAT?!" Sho yelped.

"At least he did a thorough job of it," said Judai.

"That is completely beside the point. Now, you said that there were three of them. Do you know where the third is?"

Judai shook his head. "I'd really rather not run into him, though. I ran off specifically when I knew he wasn't going to be nearby. With our bad luck, he's probably found one of the other groups."

The others couldn't help but agree.

"Well, let's go and check in with them, just to make sure. I mean, we've found what we're looking for," Johan said, smiling.

"Yeah," Judai grinned back. He tried to stand up, but let out a terrible yelp of pain and went straight back down, clutching his right ankle. His breathing was short and pained.

"Judai! Are you okay?"

"Judai!"

Judai looked down at his slightly swelling ankle. "I think I either sprained or broke something when I fell. I can't walk normally." It was taking him a lot of effort to speak calmly and evenly.

"Here, give me your arm." When Judai was firmly supported by Johan's shoulders, they set off towards Asuka, Kenzan, and Misawa's group.

* * *

Jim and O'Brien had discovered something terrible about their dear little friend Rei: she never shut up. Non-freaking-stop, she would be talking about something or other. About this new band called The Cab that she'd been listening to, about the funny thing Pharaoh had done the other day, how awesome Judai was, a strategy that she liked to use in dueling, her favourite foods, an upcoming birthday party that anyone who was anyone would be attending, and being a good Samaritan by helping dispel the rumours that Judai was pregnant with Johan's child and that they were going to name it Trenyse – honestly, what kind of a name was _Trenyse?_ – on and on it went. Even Karen's thoughts were on par with Jim and O'Brien's, and she was a crocodile, for heaven's sake.

Rei was going to shut up very soon, whether she wanted to or not.

Naturally, the boys and croc were extremely surprised and relieved when their pagers went off with a particular song. Each group had chosen a song, which would play if they paged the other groups. This particular ring was that of Johan's group.

"Figures that Johan would find him first," O'Brien muttered. "He _must_ have put a tracking chip or something under Judai's skin or something."

"Either way, we ought ta thank 'em on bended knee later…" muttered Jim. "I fin'lly got ta remember what silence sounded like."

Jim paused. He could swear that he had heard something, or someone, running. The rustle of leaves sounded faint, as though from a distance. They were growing fainter. Whoever it was, they were running _away_. But from whom?

* * *

"Do you think Aniki… is alright?" Kenzan asked quietly.

"…Sure! It's Judai! Knowing him, there's no way that…" Asuka's voice fell. She had been going to say that there was no way he'd be hurt, but she was thinking back to every incident that had occurred before. Judai was one to look out for his friends first, his personal health second. Actually, some days it seemed as though he looked out for his stomach more so than the rest of his body. Judai had a nasty habit of getting hurt whenever something happened. If not physically, then sometimes his very soul was what was injured. "Um… I'm sure he would find a way to get away. Judai is at least good at wiggling out of tight spaces."

Kenzan smiled shakily while Misawa mouthed 'that's what she said' behind his head.

Leaves rustled a little ways away. Asuka and Kenzan's heads whipped around, staring at a clump of bushes as though expecting something to jump out of it and do a trick, and Misawa commented as much.

"Something like that," Asuka muttered. The pager she was holding went off with Johan's group's tone. "I think that Johan found Judai," she said.

"Oh, good. Now we can go home," Misawa said.

"Lazy," Kenzan muttered.

"Yes. You have a problem with laziness?"

"Guys!" Asuka barked. They shut up. She raised a finger to her lips and pointed in the direction from which the sound had come. They nodded.

"Show yourself!" Asuka said calmly. No one said anything. She burst through the bushes in question and looked around the clearing behind it. No one was there. Chills ran up the tall girl's spine. They needed to go home as soon as possible. They needed to find Johan's group _now_.

* * *

"Judai, is your ankle feeling any better at all?" Johan asked.

"Not really. I'm sorry, I'm kind of heavy, I guess?"

"No! No, actually, I had expected you to weigh more, what with all the food _you_ eat."

"I'd kick you if I had a leg to spare. Lucky for you I don't."

Ryo sighed pointedly and looked to the side.

Sho wasn't sure what Ryo was sighing about. It sounded like a completely innocent exchange to him. It would, though, wouldn't it?

Judai, taking Ryo's feelings into consideration, lowered his voice. "Johan?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"…Beats me. Just felt like I should or something." Johan chuckled a little. Judai loved the sound. He leaned his head into the crook of the blunette's neck and just let the moment carry him away for a second or two.

It was promptly brought to a grinding halt when a small noise came to his attention. Everyone but Sho came to a dead halt. Sho had just run straight into his brother's back. There it was again. It sounded like leaves rustling. But no one was moving.

"Judai?" Ryo asked conversationally.

"Yes?"

"You _did_ happen to mention that there was a third kidnapper, right?"

"I did."

"And you don't know where the little S.O.B. is now, correct?"

"Correct."

"Do you suppose we're about to meet him?"

"Perhaps."

"Interesting. Would anyone object if this one was to meet an untimely end, over a cliff, for instance?"

"No."

"Nope."

"Not really."

"…Excellent."

* * *

Sorry for the (much) shorter chapter than usual. My inspiration mooned me then made a mad dash for a window. No idea where the little fscker ran off to. I'll make it up to you guys next time. Or, you know, just… eventually.

Yeah. I now feel SO much worse than I did when I was starting this chapter. I did maybe two pages before leaving to go roller-skating. I had a really good time; I haven't skated in years, but I remember loving it. It took maybe an awkward half-lap before I got back in the swing of it. After that, I was pretty graceful. I invited some of my friends, not as a party, but more like just a get-together. NO ONE SHOWED UP. My Mom was completely unable to do, like, anything in skates, so she didn't skate. My Grandma… well, that one's a given. My Dad didn't… well, I don't really know why he didn't want to. But anyway, I was the only one in my group skating. The only direction we were going on the floor was counterclockwise, so the instep of my right foot was hurting like a mother when I got home. It still hurts a bit, but not as much as it did.

My vision is even swamping occasionally and my head is spinning from time to time. My mouth also almost always feels dry. Dunno if I have a fever. Either way, I can't skip out on my 'enrichment program/summer school' Intro to Theatre thing because we are putting on a performance in a couple days and we still suck.

Review fast or… go ahead! Finish for me!


	6. Bodybag by Hit the Lights

I feel like an awful person. I didn't update yesterday. I actually may be having some problems updating daily until Thursday or so. Once again, I've got a theatre production coming up and my director hates my guts, so she tries her damndest to make life difficult for me. I hate to say it, but she's doing a good job. The woman tried to make me change my costume two days before the performance. That's why I missed the update: I was forced to go out shopping for something that might work last-minute. Like she couldn't have told me that my costume didn't work when I first wore it out a _week ago_? Hmmph. Bitch.

DISCLAIMER: I'm too pissed to put a witty disclaimer here, but if you really still need one every chapter to tell you that I don't own GX, then go ahead; sue me. I'm going to have fun persecuting your ass.

* * *

"NO, please, please, it's just me! I don't want to be pushed over a cliff!" yelped Misawa.

Ryo relaxed a little. "Hmmph. I'm a little disappointed."

There were some exchanged glances. Perhaps Ryo had a little bit of a sadist lurking deep within?

"Don't let your hopes fall. We ran here because we thought we heard someone running by us. We think it might've been the kidnapper," Asuka said. Ryo brightened.

"So, he's trying to make a getaway, hmm? So we can head him off at the docks." The teenager's normal, small smirk became a cruel and feral grin. "Great. Now, after we beat him up, we can half-drown him, too." Kenzan grinned at that.

"But, Ryo," Johan said, "we should be more worried about getting Judai back to Duel Academy. He should be looked after in the state he's in."

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "You don't want revenge on someone who touched your boyfriend without permission?" The others had similar incredulous faces.

"Of course I do. It's just that, as long as I have to hold Judai up, I can't hit him half as hard as I would like to," he responded cheerily.

Judai shot the emerald-eyed boy an I'll-get-you-later look.

"But didn't Jim and O'Brien ask that we leave some fun for them?" asked Sho, starting to feel a little sorry for the third kidnapper.

Ryo's grin widened. "First come, first served."

"I concur," Misawa said.

"Now, what's this all about, mates? Thinkin' a leavin' your favourite people be'ind?" Jim said, emerging from around a clump of trees, followed by the rest of his group.

"Jim!"

"O'Brien!"

"JUDAI-SAMA!" Rei promptly attempted to launch herself at her idol. She was warded off by Sho's rapid-fire gesticulating in front of her target. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"He's injured himself! His ankle is hurt, and if you land on him wrong, it would only serve to make it hurt worse!" Sho explained, alarmed. Rei made him terribly nervous. Actually, everyone on the planet tended to make him nervous, but Rei induced the feeling on a pronounced level.

"Oh, no! Judai-sama, I will destroy the one who did this with my bare fists, I swear on my mother's grave!"

"But your mother is still alive."

"That is beside the point!"

"Anyway, no one did anything to me. I tripped and fell wrong like an idiot. It's okay, really," Judai said, sweatdropping.

"But we ARE going after him, right?" asked O'Brien.

"Of course. We have determined that he's heading for the docks to escape," Ryo said.

"Then what a' we waiting fo'?"

"We were considering taking Judai to the school before engaging in our manhunt."

"Actually," said Judai, clearing his throat, "I would like to watch, if it's okay with all of you." All heads turned to stare at him. The more violence-inclined of the group smiled indulgently.

"Why, of course you can!" they chorused.

"Lovely," Judai said, looking for all the world like a kid in a candy store.

* * *

Ryo had been right. The third kidnapper was heading for the docks in an attempt to make a quick getaway. He had seen what had become of his fellows and had decided that Judai's friends (for of course, there was no way that _little helpless Judai_ had done something this utterly terrifying in results) were by no means people to be trifled with any longer. As soon as he was home, he was going to quit his job by any means necessary. And, in his line of work, quitting one's job could be quite painful.

He was unwrapping the rope ties around one of the docking hooks in a regular speedboat that had been floating innocently by the docks when the sounds of crunching grass behind him alerted him of the presence of others. The Man turned around, shaking.

Sure enough, there stood ten people. Seven of them he did not recognize. There was the girl that they had pretended to kidnap first… then Judai, with what appeared to be a bum leg… and then there was the one supporting the brunette. Johan Andersen. The one he had been ordered to take in the first place. The Man's superiors had sanctioned any actions necessary to take the Andersen boy with as little trouble as was possible. Things had become quite troublesome, indeed. The Man wondered if it would still be in his best interests to go after the blunette now, when he was surrounded by friends, each with a clear murderous intent. Of course, all of this thinking had to be done quickly, considering that some of the children were advancing. There was a tall boy with long dark blue hair who looked like he would like nothing more than to shove The Man's head into a meat grinder. Then there was a dark boy with dreds and a _really big gun_. Then there was another tall boy, no, more of a man, with one eye bandaged up, a full Aussie outfit, and a large _crocodile_ strapped to his back like others wore a backpack for school. Lastly, there was a boy who wore a strange bandana with teeth. This one's eyes were rapidly turning to rather frightening slits that were decidedly reminiscent of a reptile's. And… the Andersen boy was passing Judai to the women. He was… _smiling_. No one smiled when they were that angry, unless they were insane.

And, in many ways, he was.

There were five bloodthirsty people advancing on The Man. He was not happy with this arrangement. Not in the least.

"G'day, mate. Thought you might like some comp'ny, what with it bein' so nice out," Jim said.

"It's very hot out, though," commented O'Brien, cocking his gun. "Perhaps it would be best to air yourself out first." He raised his eyebrows up and down to indicate his version of 'airing out' a human being.

"Or, instead, it could be that a nice little swim is needed to cool off these days," Ryo added brightly. The Man glanced behind him, looking at the brackish water that slapped against the poles of the dock. The dock had been placed specifically in regards to the steepness of the shelf here: it made docking much easier, but at the same time indicated the terrible undertow the water possessed. Going for a little swim often meant never coming up again in these waters.

Kenzan just smiled. It was all the threat he needed.

Johan simply stood there with a pleasant look on his face, looking indulgently at The Man. "You took something of mine without asking. I was going to ask if I could have it back, but it seems it found its way back to me regardless. And it seems that I've borrowed something for you, too. Seeing as I have what is mine back, you can have what is yours back." And with that, the boy kicked. Hard. Right in the place where no one should be kicked. But that wasn't the extent of it. The leg continued on its course, moving up steadily until it connected with The Man's jaw. He went flying, crying like a babe. But there was no way that any of the boys would let him fall into the waters so easily. His torture was far from over.

* * *

He had truly been beaten to within an inch of his life. Then Ryo, Jim, and O'Brien had taken him away to some place, expressly forbidding any of the others to come along. No one wanted to come along, a bit afraid of whatever the older boys had in mind. Knowing them, they were probably going to give him a taste of prison before he even got there.

Currently, Judai was getting fitted for a cast. His foot had, indeed, been broken, and quite badly at that. He had been quite cheerful and upbeat for one so badly injured throughout the entire thing.

Everyone was sitting in the waiting room, markers in hand.

Judai pushed himself out of the doorway, waving his goodbyes to the nurse. He used his new crutches to get himself over to the not-so-silent congregation before they jumped him.

"Let me sign him!"

"I wanna sign first!"

"Let me!"

"Can I doodle on your ankle?"

"Well, if you're going to get the ankle, then I get the heel!"

"Guys, how about you try asking Judai first? I mean, it's his cast, after all."

"But that's what I did!"

Judai chuckled. His friends were nuts. But then, he knew that. He'd have to treat them to lunch later, after they'd finished raping his cast with sharpie and various dry-erase markers.

Johan was the only one not partaking in the signing of the cast. He was the one sitting next to Judai quietly, just to be touching him. It was this very sort of relationship that reminded Judai of an old married couple's behaviour. He would never voice such a thought out loud, though.

"Guys, guys!" Asuka bellowed as best she could.

"Hmm?" Heads turned to face her.

"Has everyone finished signing slash doodling?"

"Yes, ma'am," they chorused like good little children on a field trip listening to their counselor.

"Okay! In that case, let's give Judai some alone time with his boy, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." And with that, they trotted out, a few smirks tossed back at the boys still in the room. Judai was sure that he's scene Jim mouth something obscene, but then decided that he didn't care.

When they were all gone, he swung over to the door to lock it.

"Hmm? Why'd you do that?" asked Johan.

"I need to ask you some things, and I'd prefer it if no one just, y'know, _waltzed_ right in."

"Okay."

Judai took a deep breath. "Johan, why did they want _you_?"

Johan looked a little surprised at the question. "Well, uh, I don't know! There are plenty of people who wouldn't mind relieving me of my Crystal Beast deck-"

"That's not it, though," Judai said softly. "If they wanted your deck and that was all there was to it, then they wouldn't need you in the demands, just your deck. What's the real reason? You can tell me, seriously."

Johan swallowed and was silent for a while.

"Judai… have you ever put any thought into why I transferred to a place so far from home?"

"Maybe a little, but it never concerned me enough to think seriously about it," he said.

"Okay. And did you ever wonder why they said I was from Europe and gave no specific country name?"

"Nope, never that one."

Johan nodded, still looking troubled. "Okay. Um, this is kind of hard to just come out and say. I'm from Italy in particular. Italy has a very rich history, one of the most famous organizations having been begun there. This organization is called the Mafia, or to those more familiar with it, the _Cosa Nostra_."

"Johan," Judai said warningly.

"Yeah," he muttered weakly. "My Mom heads a Mafia family."

Silence reigned for several long minutes.

"Could you be hurt for telling me this?"

"You would've found out anyway, but let's pretend like you went through my stuff and found evidence and confronted me about it, okay? We _do_ have a policy, the _omerta_, or vow of silence, but I guess that that can be glossed over in this instance. Just don't tell anyone, under pain of death, please. I'm serious."

Judai nodded, swallowing. "So… the kidnappers…"

"Were after me so that they could ransom me to mother, most likely."

"I was going to ask, but why does your _Mom_ head it? Doesn't the Father usually take care of stuff like this?"

"Yeah, but he was killed a while ago, by the same group that attacked us."

"… I'm sorry."

"Don't be; from what I recall of him, he wasn't that good of a person. But anyway, my Mom, once he was dead, just grabbed control and reigned in all of the loose cannons. She was so good at it and so commanding that no one questioned her rise to power. She's _very_ persuasive."

Judai chuckled at that. "So that's where you get it from," he grinned.

Johan smacked him lightly upside the head. "Still, I don't think that we'll be hearing from that Family again. They are likely to think long and hard about the loss of some of their best men. Though I do wonder why they weren't given guns for this mission. Even if they'd had guns, I'm not sure that they'd be able to withstand all of us."

Judai smiled. "And so we know we're safe. That's a relief."

"Yeah."

"And since the door is locked already…"

"Ah! Judai, ah, um…"

"What?"

"Um, please not- _there!_ Oh, dear sweet- EEP!"

"Haha! You're ticklish."

"I – I know! Please st-stop…"

"But whyyyyyy?"

"Umm, well, because – oof!"

"C'mon, c'mon, _pleeeaaase_?"

"But I – y'know what? Screw it. Get down here."

"YEEP!"

* * *

I always wanted to write the beginning of… things… as just the dialogue. Now I've been given the opportunity.

I'm very happy with Johan's backstory.

After this, I'll be writing the omake chapters – basically, everything that was asked after or commented on in a bunch of reviews. So basically, it'll be Slut!Judai and The Death of Kidnapper Number Three.

If you can think up torture methods that the boys would be liable to use on Mr. Third then PLEASE, tell me. I'm still not sure what all they should do to him.

Any other ideas are much appreciated.

Now, review!!


	7. Just Dance by Lady Gaga Omake Ch 1

My summer theatre program is over, so now I can focus fully on finishing this fic. This chapter and the next one will be the last ones, probably. I'm gonna miss these characters, but I really ought to get a start on replacing the various chapters for my other fics that were the lost when my hard drive died. I'm not looking forward to it, but it needs to be done all the same. Then I can start on another GX fic. Well, I can as I think of another plotline. Actually, I have something in mind right now…

DISCLAIMER: Yes. I own absolutely everything. THE WORLD BELONGS TO ME. (Note the sarcasm.) Btw, it's a little hard to type what with this straightjacket.

* * *

(A/N): In this chapter, it's set sometime in the middle of the first chapter – in the week that is completely skipped over. Funfun.

* * *

"I don't know _what_ I was thinking," Johan muttered. "If Judai gets an idea in his head, he just goes for it, but usually _I_ think things out a little…"

O'Brien just shook his head. "So why are you trying to talk to _me_ about it? I really kind of don't care. You seem to have forgotten, but I'm straight. You, you're straight _trippin'_."

"Y'know, sometimes, I forget you're a kid like us. Then you say something like that and I think again," Johan said.

"And that's how I know you're white," O'Brien said unconcernedly. Both knew that the other was as far from racist as was humanly possible, so they could afford to joke like that without getting jumped in an alleyway at night.

"But I still don't know what's gotten into me. I mean, I'm not going back on my word, and I think that Judai really ought to learn his lesson, but… I've been avoiding him for most of today. We're in the same classes, so it's actually pretty hard to do. The stress is kind of affecting my mood."

"Well, you only fought last night, right?"

"Right."

"If you're feeling the affects of it now, you're probably addicted to him."

"…?"

"Like drugs."

"Oh, goodie. So I'm going through withdrawal symptoms."

"Because you're my friend, and once again, _I'm straight_, I'm not going to make a dirty joke about that."

"Thanks. I knew you cared," Johan said miserably.

"Class is starting!" the teacher bellowed. Johan began rubbing his forehead. This class always gave him terrible headaches. Science was easily his worst subject. He still got decent grades, but oh, how he _hated_ the class. "Today, we will be working in pairs. We will be doing more hands-on experiments than we normally do. Please, try to contain your excitement."

For once, the class actually seemed interesting to Johan. Hands-on experiments were always more fun than staring blankly at charts or memorizing passages from textbooks that were as dry as the inside of George Bush's skull. The only bad thing about it was that the teacher picked everyone's partners for them, whether they wanted to be partners or not. Once he had paired Celestine with Noel. It was no secret that the girls had a special hatred for each other, and had since they were in fourth grade. That was how Noel ended up in the hospital for a few days while they sorted out the matter of her being 'accidentally' burnt with one of the Bunsen burners lying around the classroom. Celestine was out for a week or two while they were trying to decide how to get evidence against her for prosecution.

"O'Brien-kun, you'll be working with Saotome-chan. Try to get along." O'Brien rolled his eyes and trotted over to Rei, miming putting in earplugs. Johan sent him a look of sympathy. "Andersen-kun, you'll be working with Yuki-kun. Try to get along," the teacher said.

Johan yelped quietly, head snapping up. He turned slowly to face Judai, who had walked up to Johan's seat remarkably quickly.

"I'll do my best to get along with you if you will do the same for me," he said cheerfully, raising one eyebrow to add another dimension to his words. He slid into the seat where O'Brien had been sitting moments before, scooting the chair as close as he could. His butt made the extra push, bringing their outer thighs together. Johan turned red and turned to his alienated lover.

"Uh, umm… Judai? What are you doing?"

Judai leaned in close to Johan and breathed into his neck, "I told you last night; I'm going to make your life hell." Johan felt his lower stomach tighten in fear – or was it really that? His eyes grew wide.

"You don't mean…"

The hands answered that question for him. One was creeping up his shirt from behind; the other was reaching for a beaker on the desk innocently to mask the other motion. He gasped; he was a very ticklish type. His eyebrows began twitching slightly as the hand moved upward to the sensitive place between his shoulder blades. He tried to focus on the experiment enough to pour a specific amount of hot and cold water in order to get the temperature specified on the worksheet that accompanied the activity. It was nearly impossible not to spill it all over the desk. He used both hands to hold the materials; he didn't trust himself not to start shaking.

Then Judai's hand dropped straight down Johan's spine to meet with the top of his pants. Fingers worked their way underneath the fabric, running down between the curves of Johan's butt cheeks. His face was completely ruddy now, he was certain of it. Judai wasn't even looking mildly perturbed. His face showed nothing other than slight interest in the beakers of water and small bottles of blue food colouring that they were supposed to be using to test convection currents. Johan didn't know how the smaller boy did it. He had also discovered, to his shock, that he couldn't move as long as Judai was touching him. Or rather, moving seemed like a very bad idea just then. Judai's fingers had found what they were looking for. Ever so lightly, they began to press in an area that made Johan's right arm start shaking, or twitching, really and set his mouth to open just enough to let out small gasps. Just as two of the fingers were almost inside of him, Judai withdrew them quickly and stopped touching the older boy altogether.

But too late. The damage was done. Johan could scarcely breathe and his legs felt as though they had the consistency of jello. Judai did nothing else for the rest of the period; he didn't need to.

When class finally let out, Johan just sat in his seat, now pale instead of bright red. O'Brien walked over, raising an eyebrow.

"Jesus, what got to _you_?"

"Then you didn't see?" Johan asked.

O'Brien gave him a curious look. "See what? That you and your boy get paired together as soon as you start needing to avoid him? Yeah, I saw tha-"

"Not that. He… oh, my god he…"

"He what?"

"He was _touching_-"

"Well, that's all I need to know."

"Set me twitching like a person with Tourettes…"

"Johan!"

"Huh?" Johan looked up at his friend.

"Straight." With that, O'Brien left the blunette to his own devices, shaking his head at the strangeness of gay people.

* * *

"So you're setting up bets?"

"That I am, mate," Jim said with the air of a salesman ready to make a killing. "Wouldja like ta test ya luck?"

O'Brien thought for a minute. "One thing: why on earth would you open up a betting pool for something so small as the two of them fighting – or something kinda reminiscent of it?"

"What, you don't think I can make anathing this way?"

"Well, I don't see who would be interested," he said frankly.

Jim smiled like a father smiles at an over-indulged child and pulled out a long list made by taping pieces of computer printer paper together. O'Brien stared, doing a few mental calculations.

"Them's folks what be int'rested. So 'ow about you tryin' with that inside knowledge o' yours to predict the winner, eh?"

O'Brien looked up with a shocked face. "This list has got well over half the campus on it."

"Now you're catchin' on."

"And so many of them… bets over 50 dollars? For some of these people, that's all they've _got_," he muttered.

"I know," Jim said, grinning. "Bigges' bettin' pool I've seen yet. It seems that ev'rybody is more int'rested in our lit'le mates than you thought. Hell, than _I_ thought."

"But just from this first page, there's – easily! – over a thousand dollars-"

Jim snatched the papers back. "Not yo'r place ta be pawing through a friend's accounts, now is it? It's only yo'r business if'in you 'appen to be makin' a few contributions of your own. Care to?"

O'Brien thought for a few seconds, then pulled out a stack of bills from his buttoned back pocket. "Hundred fifty on Judai."

* * *

Johan stood in the last shower stall after gym class, trying to get the water as cold as was possible. Judai had played tease half the day, normal, unconcerned classmate the other half. Now, almost every little motion that he made turned Johan on. For what was easily the thirtieth time, he cursed how damn attractive his choice of partner was.

This past gym class had been the worst.

Judai had magically lost his shorts, and the only ones they had on hand for him were some girl shorts, which were quite tight when it came to a boy's figure. Johan had nearly gotten a nosebleed, but by sheer force of will, he held it back.

O'Brien, of course, was completely useless. All he did was say 'straight' and then walk away whenever Johan tried to ask him for help. It was getting annoying.

The water was now practically ice-cold, but Johan still couldn't get the smaller brunette out of his mind. In all the stories, cold showers had done the trick, but in real life… well, as long as you loved someone badly enough, nothing could get in the way of that. Damn Johan's incredible capacity for affections. At least Judai hadn't managed to get into AP World History like Johan had. That class was going to be home free for a while. The blunette's favourite class ever had come through for him once again.

Johan thought he heard a door to the shower room opening and closing. No one ever really went in here, so who would be coming in? Johan was pretty sure he knew exactly who it was, but was frozen in place. He couldn't turn around to check, couldn't peek out from behind the curtain to confirm it.

His thoughts were correct.

The shower curtain was pulled aside and small, pale hands gripped Johan's ass. With that, and only that, the person left.

Johan was going to need another cold shower.

* * *

(A/N): Why is Slut!Judai so fun to write? He's just… awesome. I love him. Try it sometime. But anyway, the second part of this omake chapter is all the Death of Mr. Kidnapper Number Three. Yay. Note that none of what's in this little bitlet is actually anything like what really happened – it's all fanservice, really. It's not supposed to make any sense, so don't expect it to. There will also probably be a bit of OOC-ness. After all, the people beating up this guy are all good guys. They all have to be a little OOC in order to give their cruelty full scope.

* * *

_Johan simply stood there with a pleasant look on his face, looking indulgently at The Man. "You took something of mine without asking. I was going to ask if I could have it back, but it seems it found its way back to me regardless. And it seems that I've borrowed something for you, too. Seeing as I have what is mine back, you can have what is yours back." And with that, the boy kicked. Hard. Right in the place where no one should be kicked. But that wasn't the extent of it. The leg continued on its course, moving up steadily until it connected with The Man's jaw. He went flying, crying like a babe. But there was no way that any of the boys would let him fall into the waters so easily. His torture was far from over._

Ryo grabbed the man's shirt by the collar, grinning. "So, do you regret anything in your life?" The man nodded rapidly. "Got a religion? Well, if you have a God, then make your peace with Him now. You'll be with Him within the hour."

The man squeaked and tried jumping into the water, a last-ditch attempt at freedom. Ryo wasn't about to let that happen, though.

"Woah, woah, there. What's your hurry? Why not stay with us a bit? You seemed pretty friendly with our good friend Judai, so we'll welcome you with open arms. Closed fists, perhaps, but open arms."

"You got it," Kenzan added. "Me, I'll come with an open jaw, too. And just so you know, my bite is MUCH worse than my bark. Literally."

"And all of _my_ friends get acquainted with my dea' friend he'e, Karen. Say hello, da'ling," Jim said, allowed Karen down onto the ground. She made her way over to his terrified form with deliberate slowness, knowing full well that she had all the time in the world.

"An alligator?! What the hell is _with_ you people?" he yelped, trying to back away from the advancing reptile. Karen snapped at his ankles.

"She's a croc, mate – not an alligat'r. Git it straight."

O'Brien stepped forward. "You've all had your fun, but I haven't gotten to do anything. Just let me talk to him for a few minutes."

"Still need me to hold him down?" Ryo asked conversationally.

"… Nah. If he runs away, he knows exactly what'll happen."

And with those ominous words, O'Brien stepped towards the now-cowering man, pulling out his gun as he did so. His eyes grew round, watching every small movement of the boy's fingers around the trigger. O'Brien followed the man's gaze.

"Oh, I'm not gonna _shoot_ you. Not unless you give me a damn good reason. Care to? Thought not. However, whether there are bullets involved or not, guns can be painful things." He smacked the man across the face with the side of the gun. The force alone threw him to the ground for what had to be the third time that day. Blood starting dripping from one corner of his mouth; O'Brien's blow had knocked one of teeth loose. "Oh, that's just pathetic," he lamented. "I can't believe that he's down after just a couple of hits. Is he even really worth it?"

As O'Brien started to turn around and walk away, the man got a very dangerous idea. But it was an idea; one that he believed could save his very life. It was clear that these crazy sadistic people were not going to let him go until he was dead, so he had to act now.

He dove straight for Judai.

His hand gripped the smaller boy's ankle – the hurt one, no less. Judai let out a pained cry, hands going to the injured spot instantly and falling to the ground. The also fallen man took the opportunity and fished around for his pocketknife to threaten the kid with. His eyes grew again. _His pocketknife was gone_. But that was impossible! Unless someone had lifted it while it was still with him, that knife had never left the man's back pocket.

He was screwed.

Naturally, this did not go completely unnoticed by the five bloodthirsty teenaged boys. Every last one of them, now including Sho, Asuka, and Rei, reacted at the same time. Every last one of eight fists came down on his skull at precisely the same moment. As his world went black, Johan kicked him one final time in the gut for good measure.

"Little _rat_," Johan hissed poisonously. "You touch my boy again, and I will fucking _kill_ you 'til you _die_ from it. Hell, if I ever see your _face_ again, I'll string you upside down and then cut you in half from the balls down. _Is that clear?_"

"Johan, I think he's out cold."

"Not dead? Damn."

Ryo smiled gently. "We're not done yet. I… prepared a little something."

All faces turned to the older boy, confused. His smile grew wider, as it often did when something evil and nefarious was afoot. He darted into the woods for a minute or two, then emerged carrying a…

"Oh, _God_."

"Tha's _evil_, mate."

"So cruel."

"You would really do that to a person? I mean, he's a skank, but even skanks are human…"

"Alright everyone. The women will need to leave for a couple minutes while we put this on him."

"Okay."

"Yes, sir!"

The menfolk got to work, some grinning and some wincing in sympathy.

* * *

"So, this guy's a kidnapper, and a molester."

"That's correct, officer." The officer looked back at the police boat, trying not to laugh. She was a veteran officer, and so she had been sure that she had seen everything before. She had been dead wrong.

"So was he like that when you all found him?"

Chancellor Samejima turned a little red. "Ah, no. The friends of the molested/kidnapped person got a little… creative… with their revenge."

"I see."

She would have a great story when she got back to the precinct about her escort of a half-dead man in a Teletubbies suit.

* * *

Got the last idea from one of the reviewers. They didn't actually specify that there would be a suit involved, but I… had notions.

I love hurting him, but it's hard to write actions for a character with no name without sounding repetitive. #sob#

NOW REVIEW.


	8. Chunari Chunari by Anurdha Sriram NOTICE

Heya, folks. It's me. See, this chapter isn't really a chapter. It's more of a notification, if you will. I started writing a sequel to this story, just in case you wanted to know. This notice is for those of you who don't have me on their Author Alerts but would still like to know about this particular new story.

Well, I think that's all. Is it?

Well, anyway, the new story goes by the name of "My Worst Fears, Realized". I couldn't think of a better one. If you've got an idea for a better title, by all means, tell me what it is. The one I've got now kind of sucks.

I smell Canadian bacon. No one is cooking Canadian bacon. I think I need to go have a lie-down.

Enjoy the new story – the first chapter ended up being nine pages instead of the normal 6-7 pages.

Besides the sequel one, there are a few other ideas I have for YGO stories. Unfortunately, the other story ideas I've got are either kind of dark or somewhat directionless. The directionless one, while somewhat fun to write, revolves mostly around Johan. #le sigh# For that one, I've already got ten pages written. It's a crossover with xxxHolic with an OC thrown in, actually. If people think I should post it, I will, but I really have no clue where I would go from there. Opinions are appreciated.

Bye-bye, loves.


End file.
